Public sale home RM Sotheby’s is getting ready to promote a 1958 Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa that makes most trendy hypercars look slightly mundane. Restricted to 19 models, and constructed earlier than the famed 250 GTO, the 250 Testa Rossa retired as one of many Italian model’s most profitable race vehicles.
Given chassis quantity 0738 TR, and fitted with a Pontoon-Fendered physique by Italian coachbuilder Sergio Scaglietti, this 250 Testa Rossa received 4 of the practically 20 races it participated in shortly after rolling out of the Maranello manufacturing unit. It reportedly spent its early years racing in Brazil, the place it notably received the 1965 version of the Rio de Janeiro Grand Prix, and it later went by means of the fingers of a number of Brazilian homeowners earlier than ending up in the US within the 1980s. It had been re-bodied within the 1960s however it surprisingly saved its authentic drivetrain.
Whereas making main modifications to a uncommon basic would possibly sound insane, remember the fact that a lot of the multi-million-dollar classic race vehicles which have popped up at big-name auctions in recent times had been value little or no after they had been a few years previous. They had been outdated, which means the chances of them successful a race had been low, so many ended up with a more recent physique, a more recent engine, or each. Others received crushed.
As values and curiosity in basic Ferrari fashions started to rise, chassis quantity 0738 TR was handled to a full restoration by Ferrari Classiche, the model’s in-house basic division. It obtained the coveted Pink Guide certification, which notably confirms the automobile retains its authentic engine and gearbox. Talking of the engine, the three.0-liter V12 explains the title: “Testa Rossa” means “crimson [cylinder] head” in Italian.
Chassis quantity 0738 TR reveals how relative the time period “rarity” may be. Ferrari’s LaFerrari is taken into account a comparatively uncommon automobile; 499 models had been constructed. The born-again Lamborghini Countach is restricted to 112 models, and Bugatti made 40 models of the Divo. Right here, we’re taking a look at one in all 19.
Sotheby’s notes that chassis quantity 0738 TR has been saved in a personal assortment for over a decade, which appears like a delicate approach of telling fanatics that they may want to attend a minimum of one other decade for the subsequent alternative to bid on it if they do not take it residence this time. The public sale opens in Detroit, Michigan, on February 21, 2024, at 5:00 p.m. Japanese time, which is 2:00 p.m. in California, and it closes two days later. Proudly owning a bit of Ferrari historical past is rarely low cost, and Sotheby’s estimates the 250 Testa Rossa might promote for as much as $38 million.
Associated video: